Dear sir or madam,

I felt compelled to respond to the letter that appeared in last Wednesday’s

edition of your newspaper, in which the writer deplored the disappearance of
‘exotic’ culture while travelling abroad. It is true that as travel becomes easier
and cheaper, so the world seems to be a smaller place than before and our sense
of excitement at travelling abroad becomes blunted. We have to go a bit further
afield it seems if we want to experience the truly exotic holiday destination.
Although to the casual observer it may seem that different cultures are merging
into one, I would actually challenge this view. One must always remember that a
tourist mostly gets to experience only a partial side of a country. The solution
surely is to go off the beaten path, away from the normal tourist spots, shopping
malls and fast food outlets, and look for a more authentic local experience. The
gloomier commentators say that we have already witnessed the global
‘McDonaldization’. But it is still worth remembering that even a giant like
McDonalds is forced to make some (albeit small) concessions to the local food
preferences and ways of doing business.
Your correspondent wonders whether we should do more to ensure local
tradition are kept. In an ideal world all governments should take action to protect
their country’s national and local heritage, whether it is through building more
museums or restricting the number of foreign companies that are allowed to
trade. However, is it not also the case that young people are far less interested in
preserving old customs and traditions? The young will always be willing to
embrace new cultures (in desire to be different from their parents) and this can
include adopting ‘cool’ music, clothing or other commodities from abroad.
I feel there is nothing wrong with the sharing of cultures per se, providing that it is
a reciprocal relationship based on curiosity and mutual respect instead of
exploitation. However,this is the real challenge of modern-day tourism.

Yours sincerely,
Sherman Tse
Evaluation of First Aid course
Introduction
Between July 1st and 3rd, I attended one of your emergency first aid courses (
course code: SAP500). This brief report gives my feedback on the course in
question and makes a small number of suggestions about how the course could
be improved for future participants.
The course
The objective of the course was to equip us with the skills needed to deal with
most situations. The syllabus, with its coverage of adult CPR, choking, the control
of bleeding, burns, and dealing with shock, was comprehensive enough for a
three-day course.
I enjoyed the learning method very much. The presenter used ice-breakers at the
beginning of each session to put us rather nervous participants at ease. Another
refreshing aspect of the course was the absence of medical jargon. Instead, we
used practical involvement and repetition of various emergency procedures, like
CPR and bandaging, to help us learn. The use of easy-to-remember acronyms, like
ABC (airway, breathing, circulation) will facilitate recall in future situations.
If I had one complaint about the presenter, it would be that many of the examples
he gave of emergency situations were based on his own experiences of leading
expeditions. While these stories were absorbing I would have preferred to hear
those that related more closely to my own profession. ( I work in the kitchen of a
busy restaurant, so many of the situations I am likely to face involve burns and
scalds, which were not dealt with very fully on the course. I appreciate that a
three-day course, however, there is much to cover and people are bound to be
disappointed.
Suggestions
My suggestion to improve the course further still would be to include more follow
up or recommendations for study. The presenter was kind enough to give us a list
of useful websites, but perhaps it would be a good idea to have a training manual
for participants to take away. I would also recommend tailor-made courses for
specific industries. For instance, First Aid for Catering Staff.
Conclusion
All in all, I would like to thank your training department for a high-quality course. I
have come away from this feeling more confident than before that I could deal
with an emergency situation.